Analogue Paneer

About Analogue Paneer

• Analogue paneer is a formulated product in which milk fat or milk protein is partly or wholly replaced by non-milk ingredients.
• Composition: It may contain vegetable fat or oil, vegetable protein, starches, milk solids, emulsifiers and stabilisers.
• Manufacturing Process:
  • Ingredient substitution: Milk fat or milk protein is replaced with cheaper non-milk ingredients such as vegetable fats, oils, starches and plant proteins.
  • Blending: Starches, emulsifiers and stabilisers are blended to achieve the required firmness and water-binding capacity.
  • Setting: Acidulants are introduced, and the mixture is mechanically pressed into solid blocks.
• Nutritional Concerns: Unlike milk paneer, analogue paneer has no fixed nutritional profile because its composition varies.
  • Milk paneer contains about 18.9 g protein, 24.8 g fat and 2.4 g carbohydrate per 100 g.
• Legality:
  • Regulatory framework: FSSAI has proposed an amendment to the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011 for analogue paneer.
  • Proposed restriction: The proposal seeks to restrict the manufacture and sale of analogue products as paneer and discontinue the use of “paneer” in their nomenclature, labelling and marketing.
  • Current status: Analogue products are not illegal by themselves, but selling them as conventional paneer without clear disclosure can mislead consumers.

Differences between Milk Paneer and Analogue Paneer